Retired Faculty 1990's

Paul L. Crane

1951 – 1990

Plant Breeding and Genetics

Dr. Crane was a consultant for the Rockefeller Foundation and was honored with membership in Alpha Zeta and Sigma Xi and with the Indiana Crop Improvement Association’s Crop and Soils Merit Award. He also developed one of the leading state corn performance testing programs.

James “Jim” Ahlrichs

1955 – 1990

Soil Teaching & Chemistry

Dr. Ahlrichs is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and of the Indiana Academy of Science and received the Agronomic and the Soil Science Education Award of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America.

Eldon L. Hood

1957 – 1990

Crops Teaching & Soil Testing

Dr. Hood served as director of the Purdue Soil Testing Lab for 12 years. He also taught forage crops, seed technology and grain grading in addition to advising the Agronomy Club in State 4-H and FFA crops contests. Under his guidance, the Purdue Crops Judging Team won the Kansas City event in 1979 and third place in Chicago. Dr. Hood is a member of the Indiana Academy of Science, American Society of Agronomy, and the Indiana Forage Council.

Jerry Vincent Mannering

1967 – 1990

Soil & Water Management

While at Purdue, Dr. Mannering worked in extension, research, and teaching of Soil and Water Management. His research made significant strides in controlling soil erosion and the effect of conservation tillage on soil properties related to plant growth and soil erodibility. Dr. Mannering wrote over 70 scientific publications and was a member of American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, and Soil and Water Conservation Society, among others.

William D. Treese, Sr.

1975 – 1990

Crop Extension Specialist

Dr. Treese served as a Professional Agronomist for Purdue University in Vincennes, IN for 15 years. He is a member of NACTA, ASA, CSSA, and Gamma Sigma Delta. Dr. Treese was one of the first NACTA fellows and received several awards, including the Werner L. Nelson Award, the ABC Award from Vincennes University for Service Above and Beyond the Call of Duty, and the Big Apple Award for teaching excellence as rated by students.

Stanley A. Barber

1949 – 1991

Plant Nutrition and Soil Fertility

Dr. Barber spent his entire professional career at Purdue University where he focused his research on soil nutrient uptake by plant roots using plant physiology, chemistry and physics, mathematics, and computer science. Dr. Barber is a fellow of the Indiana Academy of Science and the American Society of Agronomy and has served on the boards of ASA, SSSA, and ISSS. He received the Honorary Member Award from National Fertilizer Solutions Association in 1978.

Marvin L. Swearingin

1961 – 1991

Cropping Systems Research & Extension

Dr. Swearingin served as grain crops extension specialist before travelling to Brazil where he spent two and a half years initiating a soybean field demonstration and extension program. After returning to Purdue, he focused on research in improved, cost-effective soybean cropping systems and plant response mechanisms to production variables. Dr. Swearingin had a close relationship with the Indiana Soybean Association, serving as executive secretary-tresurer or as a board member from 1967 – 1987.

Philip F. Low

1949 - 1992

Soil Chemistry

Dr. Low worked with the application of thermodynamics to soils and clays and in the elucidation of reactions and processes in clays. As a teacher, he taught an advanced course in Physical Chemistry of Soils and supervised over 50 graduate students, post-doctoral students, and visiting scholars. He is a Fellow of ASA, SSSA, and a Distinguished Member of the Clay Minerals Society.

Marvin W. Phillips

1961 – 1994

Soil Fertility Extension & Department Head

Dr. Phillips was Head of the Department of Agronomy for twenty years, from 1971 to 1991. He was active in the US Department of Agriculture Task Force on Soybean Advancement, National Soybean Crop Improvement Advisory Board, and served as a consultant on international projects in Brazil, Burkina Faso, and Niger. He was also a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, and the Crop Science Society.

Charles L. Rhykerd

1960 – 1996

Crop Physiology & Plant Nutrition

Dr. Rhykerd has been recognized for his excellence and accomplishment in both teaching and research and was awarded the NACTA Ensminger-Interstate Distinguished Teacher Award. He was committed to agricultural development internationally and taught many graduate students from Africa, Europe, Latin America, and New Zealand. Dr. Rhykerd used a team approach to forage-animal problem solving and cooperated with various other departments to accomplish research goals.

Marion F. Baumgardner

1961– 1997

Soil Science

Dr. Baumgardner has worked to teach and promote agronomy in over 110 countries, including India and Argentina. While at Purdue, he was also involved in the interdisciplinary Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing (LARS) program. Dr. Baumgardner is a fellow of six professional societies and taught several soils classes at Purdue University.

Wyman E. Nyquist

1963 – 1998

Statistics & Quantitative Genetics

Dr. Nyquist served as Agricultural Experiment Station statistician at Purdue. He taught four graduate level courses as well as statistical methods and quantitative genetics for graduate students. Dr. Nyquist served on 225 graduate thesis committees, one of the highest at Purdue. His research involved expressing the genetic variation among and within polycross progenies in terms of covariances of relatives and nonrandom-mating parameters.

Joseph E. Yahner

1973 – 1998

Soils & Land Use

Dr. Yahner worked with the use and interpretation of soils information in residential development, on-site waste disposal, sewage sludge application on farmland, and interpretation of soil maps for productivity and assessment, favoring computer based soil maps. He taught a course in soils and land use, and was very experienced in land use policy and planning. Dr. Yahner was a recipient of the Indiana State Health Commissioner’s Award and the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Specialists Association Senior Award.